Happy New Year! Landmark – New Album Out Soon!

“you’re my landmark, my north star, compass of my heart, that’s what you are”

It’s been a busy year for me with some stellar gigs, recording my new album – Landmark, playing music and keeping all the other irons in the fire. I am delighted to say the new album is (finally) near completion. It took a lot longer than I had anticipated. Life stood up and did its thing. This year ill health has cast a shadow over my family and though it has been a challenging year for many of us, I look forward to 2017 with a renewed sense of hope in my heart.

Next week I start the New Year with a bang and return to Malbay Studios to record the main vocals. After that it will be time for backing vocals and the addition of a few more bits and pieces, before we start the mixing and mastering. I am tentatively aiming for a release along with the daffodils. Daffoldils or Easter eggs – we’ll see!
The new record is brimful of new songs, and is wide ranging in style and subject, from a song that pays homage to the life of Aylan Kurdi, the young Syrian refugee who drowned while trying to reach Europe with his family, to an eulogy for my late grandmother, the wonderful Lily May Watts, and a song that was inspired by a train journey to Devon and then completed in a London Song Company workshop with Boo Hewerdine called “The Sand is A Different Colour Here”.

I was delighted to release my first ever music video this time last year and to then return to Peter John Walsh of Northern Boy Productions to film a new video of my song Angel’s Roost early in 2016, on a baby grand piano in a beautiful old church in Croydon. Peter, along with being a talented songwriter himself is pretty handy with his camera as is the wonderful Jane Walshe. I am so grateful to them both for their ability to help me feel at ease in front of the camera and their ability to get a fantastic job done with huge time constraints.

This year has been incredible in terms of the gigs I had the opportunity to be involved in – two highlights were supporting the wonderful Sean Keane in Moy Community Hall in March

and then Mundy in Culturlann Sweeney in Kilkee in July, 2016. Both consummate performers in very different genres, they were unfailingly generous with the performance opportunities they put my way.

2016 also saw me joining Anne Rynne and Shona Blake, as the performance collective Three Women Sing. It is fabulous performing with these two brilliant women and we have had so much fun and learned so much this year playing diverse venues such as the colourful and quirky Potter’s Hand Cafe in Kilrush, the beautiful Foust Gallery in Ennistymon as well as Chez Le Fab in Limerick city. We are very much looking forward to bringing our songs to Gort in March of this year to the Gallery Cafe.

Recording in Malbay Studios has yet again been a rich experience. I was privileged to work with the one and only Carl Hession. Carl was a huge influence on me musically when I was younger as my music teacher in Colaiste Iognaid secondary school in Galway, and I played many of his arrangements as a young musician in the school orchestra. He came up trumps with some beautiful string arrangements for the new album and Sharon Howley, Jim Higgins, Jono Connell, Chris Wood and Martin O Malley have added such colour, depth and richness to the songs.

Teaching music and working on the Embrace scheme with Clare Arts Office enables me to make music and sing songs every day of the week. I continue to be inspired by those I teach, and the participants of the workshops I facilitate at North Clare Mental Health Centre, Ennistymon, St Anne’s School, The Orchard, Kilrush and the Brothers of Charity. This September I started working as Artist in Residence at Scoil Iosaf Naofa, Moy, song writing with the children there, and also began teaching Irish Traditional music at St Flannan’s N.S. in Inagh.

March also saw my song My Heart Lies in Miltown Malbay get airplay on Eoin O’ Neill’s fantastic Sunday morning show and a big thank you to all the presenters on Clare FM who continue to be so supportive of local singer songwriters and musicians. You can listen to the song here. There was also a wonderful chat about songwriting with Pat Costello of Clare FM’s Gentle Folk radio programme. In case you missed it, you can listen to it here

We had a busy summer of Tuesday tunes in the Nineteenth Bar in Lahinch and this also gave me the opportunity to try out the new songs, and of course play the tunes which always make my heart sing.

I continue to be mentored by Julian Marshall, ex creative director of the London Song Company. Julian motivates, inspires and helps to gently steer me through the days of self doubt and dodgy Skype connections.

I have also benefitted greatly from working with Cathal Jack of Galway Voice Studio this year and he has really helped me look at how I use my voice in a more productive way.

Thank you for all your support in 2016, whether its downloading a song, responding to my posts on facebook or twitter, sharing and liking my music, buying my EP or attending a gig.

I am continually surprised by how a small little spark of a lyric idea – that will disappear into the ether if I don’t record it or jot it down – can take wings and fly with a dose of dedication, dogged diligence and often sheer stubbornness on my part, and finally become a song that I love to sing and that people enjoy listening to. For this gift I am blessed.

I met a dear friend yesterday who told me of a great quote she had heard from a friend of hers- “its better to burn out than rust out”! One of these days I will get the balance right, but in the mean time I’ll keep on keeping on.

Finally thank you to Gerry and Jack for their unfailing love and support.